Church briefs (Jan. 9, 2015)Countywide Prayer Meeting A Countywide Prayer Meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Danville First Baptist Church. The event is hosted by several dedicated Christians and is designed to bring Yell County area churches together seeking God for the needs of the area. The event has several different denominations involved. During the meeting, those in attendance will pray for many needs within the county including its churches and pasto...

Jesus is the light of the worldJesus is the light of the world. In John 8:12 it says, then spoke Jesus again unto them saying “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness; but shall have the light of life.” 13: In Matthew 5: 14-16 Jesus says in 14:”Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” 15:”Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that ar...

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Barbara Ann Freeman TownsendThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

A helping hand for the uncertainThe purpose of this article is to extend a helping hand to those uncertain of God’s existence. Otherwise expressed, those who claim to be agnostics. As such, to be differentiated from atheists, who insist there is no God. As for the former, I was one of them during my youth. As for the latter, it never genuinely appealed to me, since it seems to me that the more we know, the more we realize we do not know. On one occasion, I inquired of a frie...

Church briefs (Jan. 2, 2015)Falling Water Church weekend revival Falling Water Church will host a weekend revival Saturday and Sunday. Services will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday with Bro. Donnie Chisum of Marshall as the speaker. The revival will continue on Sunday at 6 p.m. with Bro. Tommie Wheeler of Vendor as the speaker. Countywide Prayer Meeting A Countywide Prayer Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Danville First Baptist Church. The event is hos...

Torres returns the favor to RussellvilleA move to Russellville was the best decision Raul Torres said he ever made. It changed his life. Minister and president of Main Street Mission, Torres came to the Arkansas River Valley by chance and fell into the right hands. Torres lived in Guanajuato, Mexico, before moving to Oregon when he was 17. He lived in Portland, Ore., 14 years before he decided he needed to move his family and start a new life. Torres said he visited his in-laws in R...

Prepare your mind for action!In six days 2015 begins! Four times in Scripture Paul used the Greek word “hugiaino,” which involves “mental hygiene” or how we program our thoughts. Polarity, Focus, and Perspective are all involved in how effective and fruitful your life will be in the months ahead. Please consider 1 Peter 1:13 as a New Year’s Challenge: “Prepare your minds for action.” Select Your Polarity! Like batteries, people have both positive and negative polarity. Th...

Do we live up to our responsibilities?We are legally responsible for our actions when we turn the age of 18, but how many of us take our responsibilities seriously enough at any age? Some of us have to become responsible earlier in life than others for various reasons. I’m sure that many of you can relate to this. We all have different types of responsibilities such as making a living. These days it usually takes two adults working just to make ends meet. If you are saved, God wil...

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Barbara Ann Freeman TownsendThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church briefs (Dec. 26, 2014)All Saints special services The Office of Morning Prayer, an ancient tradition taken from the monastic life of the very early Church, will be prayed on Sunday, December 28, The First Sunday of Christmas at All Saints Episcopal Church. The poetical beauty of the Shakespearean language of Rite I will be used at the Solemn 8 a.m. service. Rite II, in contemporary language, will be used at the Festal 10:30 service with organ and instrumental soloi...

Church briefs (Dec. 19, 2014)NLC to host Candlelight New Life Church in Russellville will host Candlelight at 6 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Sunday and at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Everyone is invited to Candlelight as the church celebrates Jesus, the gift of hope. The church is located at 130 E. Harrell Drive. Presbyterian Christmas program Appleton Cumberland Presbyterian Church will host its Christmas program at 10 a.m. Sunday entitled “Light from Above.” A worship servi...

'Twas the night before Jesus came'Recently I found an interesting poem in a book of illustrations entitled “The Tale of the Oxcart (and 1501 other stories) compiled by Charles R. Swindoll. The poem’s author is Anonymous but he does write well. I’d like to share it with you as food for thought this Christmas season. “Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house Not a creature was praying, not one in the house. Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care In ho...

How do we treat others?How we treat others says a lot about the kind of person we are, me included. I’ve been guilty in the past of not being as loving and kind as I should be. I believe we’ve probably all had our bad moments, such as talking to drivers in front of us, or being impatient with others when we are in a rush to get somewhere or do something and we are afraid that it is going to make us late, but really it is not their fault. We should all try to leave e...

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Barbara Ann Freeman TownsendThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Do you have a storm in your life?God loves us and protects his children, and if you are a born-again Christian, then you are his child. However, even though we are saved it doesn’t mean that we won’t have storms in our lives, for even people in the Bible went through bad times and storms. Sometimes Christians have more storms than non-Christians because Satan is against us and thinks if we go through bad times that we will give up or turn against God. Although we may let our ...

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Barbara Ann Freeman TownsendThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sneak attacksDARDANELLE — In the early days of World War II, the U.S. managed to somehow not be drawn into direct military action. That would soon change. While no one would accuse Japan and the U.S. of being on friendly terms, the Japanese did have ambassadors in Washington, D.C. when the attack occurred. Because of the sneak attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Dec. 7, 1941, to be a day that would live in infamy. The Japanese would soon c...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church briefs (Dec. 12, 2014)Russellville First UMC news The First United Methodist Church in Russellville will host a candlelight service at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Sanctuary. The service will feature scripture lessons that are interspersed with carols and hymns. Christmas Eve services will be held at 5 and 11 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24 in the Sanctuary. The service will include worshiping, singing carols, passing the light and celebrating Holy Communion. The church is located...

Overcoming the overwhelming“… From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I…” Psalm 61:2 Have you ever felt besieged by the storms and tests of life? Inundated with problems? Often times leaving one feeling helpless and overwhelmed. There are so many factors in everyday survival that add layers of stress and pressure to our lives. Financial pressures, sickness, family problems, unemployment, loss ...

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Pastor William Flynn / Grace Chapel Pentecostal ChurchThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Discipleship at ChristmasI was alerted as a child that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. However, relatively little attention was given to this. Instead, our focus was largely on presents, and the festive meal we enjoyed together. We were not a church attending family. It was not until I decided to follow Jesus, while serving in the military during World War II, that I associated Christmas with discipleship. As of now, they are inseparable. The pattern was set ...

Church briefs (Dec. 5, 2014)The Crossing fundraiser concert tonight A fundraising concert will be held from 7:30-9 p.m. toiday at The Crossing, located at 303 W. C St. in Russellville. The evening will feature Wayne Drain, Mark Gotcher, David Eslick, Noel and Tricia Richards, Tim and Carter Drain, Jason Jones and Allie Smith. All proceeds will go to The Crossing. For more information, call (479) 567-5650. St. John’s Lutheran hosts Nativity Tour St. John’s Lutheran Church...

Trials, tribulations, heartaches, pain and sorrowHow many of you have gone through some or all of these things already or are going through them right now? I have gone through all of them at some time in my life and I still struggle with them everyday. Why? Because God wants to keep me close to him and in his will. Yes, God allows bad things to happen to us just to draw us closer to him, and he will explain all the reasons to us when we get to see and talk with him in heaven. I had even gott...

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Barbara Ann Freeman TownsendThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

ThanksgivingThe Thanksgiving holiday has a long tradition here in the U.S. The Plymouth Colony observed the first Thanksgiving in 1621. George Washington and other early Presidents directed the country to celebrate Thanksgiving in an on-again, off-again fashion until Abraham Lincoln made it an official annual federal holiday during the Civil War. However, the tradition of expressing thankfulness to God goes back much further than that. Thank offerings in ...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church briefs (Nov. 28, 2014)St. John’s Lutheran hosts Nativity Tour St. John’s Lutheran Church will celebrate the birth of the Savior by presenting a Nativity Tour from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. Members of the church will be displaying more than 40 different Nativity sets from around the world. The community is invited to view the Nativities and enjoy refreshments. The event is come-and-go and admission is free. The church is located at 500 N. Cumberland Ave. For mor...